Author: Admin

Gamigo’s New Owner Should Focus On Advertising


Pop quiz: Why would a newspaper publisher have interest in an MMO developer? That is rhetorical, I can’t give an honest answer either. Regardless, back in 2008, for some reason newspaper publisher Axelrod Springer AG purchased the majority stake in Gamigo. Since then Gamigo has published some very high quality games, from Jagged Alliance Online to Black Prophecy, and a number of other games. Unfortunately as the communities of many of Gamigo’s games will tell you, few of the titles in their library have had an opportunity to shine, and some have even been shut down, due to a simple lack of exposure to the marketplace. Ask around and odds are not a whole lot of people will know that there exists a Jagged Alliance MMO, or Dungeon Empires, or that Black Prophecy was one of the best looking free to play MMOs on the market.

So I can only hope that someone from Samarion, who recently took over Gamigo, reads this and understands a simple fact: You have to make people aware that your games and company exist. Throw some money into advertising, get your name out there, and show everyone what you’ve got.

(Source: Gamasutra)

Aventurine Hints At Promotions For Current/Past Subscribers


Darkfall is currently in transition. The current iteration, Darkfall 1.0, has been made available for free to anyone who had purchased the game, and will remain online until November 15th. After, the servers will shut down and Aventurine will transition the service to Darkfall: Unholy Wars on November 20th. In preparation, Aventurine has posted an update on the Epic Blog, detailing that players should get their accounts in order for the transition. As the announcement details, Aventurine is looking into offering price promotions, and various other options for current subscribers.

As we count down towards Darkfall Unholy Wars, we would like to suggest that you get your accounts in order and to ask you to please update your account information. If you are experiencing issues like: forgotten username, passwords, email address, accounts not active  etc., please submit a ticket to customer support with the Title “Preparing for Darkfall Unholy Wars”. We need your information for matters which relate to offering our existing customers a price promotion, but also in order to select some of you for various other privileges and requests.

You can find the blog post linked below, as well as yet another gameplay video of Unholy Wars.

(Source: Epic Blog)

Jagex: Just Kidding, Double Experience Is Fine With Us


Back in July, Jagex announced that they were through with double experience weekends. According to Mod Mark, the bonus experience weekends carried a negative effect on the game’s overall economy by encouraging players to hoard large quantities of raw materials, and the subsequent dump of finished goods on the market that followed. Since then, Jagex has supplemented double experience with items from Squeal of Fortune and quest rewards that grant double experience. Still, holding Jagex’s long term corporate policy to the post of a staff member may not be the most trustworthy source, since Jagex has a long habit of moving in the opposite direction of their statements.

Beginning the 27th until the 29th, members in RuneScape will enjoy a double experience weekend, with some heavy alterations to the formula. Unlike previous weekends, where the multiplier began at 2.7x and would slowly tick down over ten hours to 1.1x, the bonus experience starts at 2x and does not tick down over time. Additionally, non-members will also be able to get into the action, but will only receive a 20% bonus to their experience gain.

Additional double experience weekends are likely to come in the future.

(Source: XP FAQ)

Turbine Lays Off Unspecified Number Of People


As it is, layoffs in the MMO industry are common. Jobs are often based on contracts and temporary in nature, and developers tend to over-hire when developing the game itself or a large piece of content, and then follow the launch with a round of layoffs. In that regard, I’ve always said here at MMO Fallout that more information is needed than a simple “X developer is laying off staff,” before we are all free to run around screaming about the end of the world. In today’s case, developer Turbine Entertainment has laid off a number of staff as part of restructuring at Warner Bros. In an email, Spokeswoman Remi Sklar stated:

“As part of the continual review of our business operations and fluctuating market conditions, we have had to make reductions in our Turbine workforce,”

Our thoughts go out to the unknown number of Turbine ex-employees, and we hope you all find jobs quickly.

(Source: Boston Globe)

Sony All Access Pass Gets Better Every Day


Sony Online Entertainment’s All Access Pass is one of the few services you will find these days where prices have gone down while benefits have increased, dramatically. Priced at $20 a month, Sony’s All Access pass only continues to add games to its library as the months continue . Currently, Access Pass offers premium services for all of the following games:

  • Bullet Run
  • Clone Wars Adventures
  • DC Universe
  • Everquest
  • Everquest II
  • Free Realms
  • Pirates of the Burning Sea
  • Planetside
  • Vanguard

All Access also grants $5 in Station Cash per month. Over the next year or so, Sony will also be adding benefits for their upcoming MMOFPS Planetside 2, hardcore fantasy MMO Wizardry Online, as well as Everquest Next, all without adding to the total cost of All Access. So as far as the idea of subscriptions in MMOs, Sony seems to have the right attitude on roping in players.

Bigpoint Lays Off 120, Halts Development in United States


Bigpoint has abandoned development in the United States, according to a news piece by Gamasutra released today. The bad news comes alongside even worse: 120 employees have been laid off from the free to play publisher, over a third if whom are from the San Francisco studio. The layoffs are due to the cost of labor in San Francisco, as well as competing with other studios in the area for skilled work.

Founder and CEO Henrik Hubertz has stepped down from his role, citing unrelated reasons. Speaking to Gamasutra, Hubertz gave his own insight into Bigpoint.

The games that we have developed in the last two years haven’t been that successful, and the San Francisco area and Bay Area is quite a competitive market,

The other 80 layoffs came from Bigpoint’s office in Hamburg, mostly in administration. None of Bigpoint’s current projects have been affected by these layoffs.

(Source: Gamasutra)

The MMO Fallout Forums Return


I know what you’re thinking: Omali, you have tried at least three times to set up a forum and they have all failed miserably. How will this be any different? The answer is simple: Ease of use. Really. Instead of forcing people to sign up on a forum account, all you need to do is go to the forum and sign in through a number of methods (via twitter, wordpress, facebook, etc). With luck, this particular forum will pick up off the ground.

https://mmofallout.com/forum/#/

Eve Online's PvP Has Stagnated, Says CCP


As we learned from Stephen Calendar many months ago, the MMO industry is one of test and react. So it stands that over the years, not every change or new feature to a game will be openly accepted by the community, or for that matter updates that are intended to improve gameplay may not always do so. In the case of Eve Online, the updates revolve around factional warfare changes implemented in the recent Inferno expansion. The goal of Inferno was to shake up the way that all players, new and experienced, fight.

Unfortunately, as CCP points out in their dev blog, this didn’t go as planned. Instead of focusing on content, players have been distracted by farming and cashing out alternative points, and a number of factors have come together and caused an inflation in the market. In order to alleviate player concerns, CCP is ready to implement a patch tomorrow that will take the focus off of farming LP and more on to the actual fights themselves.

You can find more in-depth patch notes at the link below.

(Source: Eve Online)

Eve Online’s PvP Has Stagnated, Says CCP


As we learned from Stephen Calendar many months ago, the MMO industry is one of test and react. So it stands that over the years, not every change or new feature to a game will be openly accepted by the community, or for that matter updates that are intended to improve gameplay may not always do so. In the case of Eve Online, the updates revolve around factional warfare changes implemented in the recent Inferno expansion. The goal of Inferno was to shake up the way that all players, new and experienced, fight.

Unfortunately, as CCP points out in their dev blog, this didn’t go as planned. Instead of focusing on content, players have been distracted by farming and cashing out alternative points, and a number of factors have come together and caused an inflation in the market. In order to alleviate player concerns, CCP is ready to implement a patch tomorrow that will take the focus off of farming LP and more on to the actual fights themselves.

You can find more in-depth patch notes at the link below.

(Source: Eve Online)

Save COH Plays For Charity


The community of City of Heroes weren’t just virtual superheroes this weekend. A team of forty nine battle ready players took to the streets this weekend to fight crime (and cause it) in a 24 hour marathon for the name of freedom, honor, and charity. The marathon raised over $8,500 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, a facility that treats children regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

One participant, DrakeGrimm, had the following to say:

“It is events like this that make me honored to stand up and be a part of this community. We are heroes, and this is what we do.”

At the end of the marathon, players grouped together outside City Hall in Paragon City to raise their torches in support of the game and its community. City of Heroes is scheduled to shut down on November 30th, although the community has still not given up hope of saving the MMO. You can find the SaveCOH campaign here: http://www.savecoh.com/

(Source: Press Release)